Chong Wei urges M’sians to stay united

PETALING JAYA: Datuk Lee Chong Wei has invoked scenes of his fans cheering him during the epic 2006 Malaysian Open badminton final on the eve of National Day to urge Malaysians to unite amid racial polemics.

The former world No. 1 recalled the encounter where he trailed Lin Dan of China 13-20 in the rubber game. “I was tired and dejected. I looked up to the crowd. Their vociferous support never wavered.

“Then, I saw a Malay girl, maybe around eight years old, putting both hands together with her eyes closed. She was praying for me.

“Then I saw an Indian girl crying. I don’t know if she was crying for me, but I assumed she was.

“Then another corner, my friend’s son, a 10-year-old Chinese boy, was shouting my name so loud that the umpire had to gaze at that corner hinting to him to lower his voice, ” he said in a Facebook post yesterday.

Spurred by what he saw, Lee made a stunning comeback winning seven straight points to level at 20-20 before winning 23-21.

“The whole of Malaysia prayed for me to win. A Malaysia consisting of kawan, ah ne and heng dai. A colourful Malaysia.

“We Malaysians are better than these, my friends, ” he said, urging Malaysians not to let petty issues to tear the country apart.

“Tunjukkan kita jauh lagi teguh dari semua (show that we are stronger than all of this) nonsense, ” he said.